In the prior art, there have been attempts to support and position telescopic mirrors with precision for increased accuracy.
UK 1382094 discloses a method to correct distortions measured from the surface of a radio reflector as it is moved to different angles of elevation by varying the movement of actuators after taking into account factors such as gravity and wind. However, such prior art systems require complex circuitry to correct the shape of a deformable mirror.
The object of the present invention is to provide a support jack for exerting accurate and adjustable thrust within a well-defined range on a load.
Accordingly the object of the invention is a dual-acting support jack interposed between a support and a load and able to apply to this load a rated force between approximately 400 and 3,900N over displacement of less than 1 cm. The jack includes a reservoir-forming body, connected to the support and covered on both sides by a cover, the covers and the body bounding a housing having two chambers, each sealed by a flexible membrane, the two covers being connected to each other by link means.
The link means consist of tie bolts extending through the body and the covers.
The support jack has a generally cylindrical shape with two chambers isolated one from the other.
The membranes are in the form of annuli of which the inside edge is joined to the body and the outside edge to each of the covers.
Each cover comprises a cylindrical flange cooperating with a collar to clamp the outer edge of each membrane.
The covers are joined to each other by tie bolts having at their centers a bulge, the collar and the cover being pressed by means of nuts against each side of the said bulge.
The inner and outer membrane edges are fitted with a bead disposed in a channel in each collar.
The load is linked to the adjacent cover by a linkrod.
The support jack is rigidly joined opposite the load to a means generating an additional force.
One embodiment of the support jack supporting a telescope mirror comprises an array of support jacks linked to the mirror and to a support structure matching the shape of the mirror.
The main advantage of the present invention is the accurate adjustment of the force applied by the support jack to the load.
Another advantage is the faithful transmission of the force received by the support jack.
In the telescope mirror application, one advantage of the support jack is to allow accurate mirror-weight distribution, thereby avoiding critical deformations.
Another advantage is the design of a jack with only minute rigidity-fluctuation or restoring force.
Yet another advantage is the design of a jack practically free of friction or hysteresis of any kind.
Other features and advantages of the invention are elucidated in the following complementary description illustrating a particular embodiment mode in relation to the attached drawings in which: